DelBene will go on to face Republican Snohomish County Councilman John Koster, the lone Republican in the contest and twice a candidate in the old 2nd Congressional district. DelBene is a high techie from the Eastside. Koster is a former dairy farmer from Arlington.

"I did talk to Darcy Burner and she congratulated me on the victory," DelBene said. The conversation was short and apparently did not include a pledge of support or help in the general election.

The Democrats fought like cats in a bag in the reconfigured 1st District, which stretches from Lummi Island and the U.S. Canadian border all the way south to the Snoqualmie Valley.

DelBene stayed positive, blitzing the airwaves with TV spots that endorsed such proposals as the "Buffett Tax" on millionaires. A former state revenue director, DelBene would have to pay that tax if elected.

If early results hold up, it will mark the third defeat for Burner, who developed a national following among liberal "NetRoots" activists and boasted endorsements from such groups as MoveOn.org

Some joked that the 1st District contest pitted money versus prayer -- DelBene's $2.3 million investment in her own campaign, versus fervent public prayers by Republican State Chairman Kirby Wilbur that the contentious Burner would win the Democratic nod.

Asked what he will do in the general election, his prayers for a Burner win going unanswered, the GOP's Wilbur said: "We sacrifice more sheep, and we light more candles." Seriously, he added, "Keep in mind there's a lot of division on the Democrats' side."

Burner led in early polls, based on name familiarity from her 2006 and 2008 challenges to Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert. She also carried baggage. An angry Burner called President Obama "a Republican" in a tweet last year. After the recent Aurora, Colorado, shootings, she said of the nation's leading gun rights group: "The NRA can go to hell."

Burner launched a hit mailing against DelBene, making charges and quotes that she had generated. It apparently had no impact. The first results on Tuesday night -- from the supposed Burner stronghold of Whatcom County -- showed DelBene ahead.

DelBene was endorsed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, U.S. Reps. Adam Smith and Rick Larsen, the Boeing Aerospace Machinists, the Teamsters Union and the Sierra Club.

Koster was piling up about 43 percent of the total vote, well under 50 percent but more votes than DelBene was receiving. He was the only Republican on the ballot. But Koster, too, brings baggage: He is an unyielding abortion opponent, delivered anti-government harangues to Tea Party rallies in 2010, and has said critical things about Medicare.

The two finalists face north-south challenges in a diverse and politically balanced U.S. House district.

Koster has talked about making "many many new friends" in the southern past of the 1st District, technology centers such as Redmond and Kirkland. On Tuesday night, Del Bene said she had "many many more people to talk to" in the northern counties of Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish.

"The first thing Suzan will need to understand is the role the federal government plays in the district . . . I think she's on her way to knowing that," said Larsen, who has represented the three counties in Congress for a decade. The new 1st District House member will deal with flood control in the Skagit, U.S.-Canada border issues in Whatcom, and a stalled Farm Bill that dairy farmers dearly want.

Other Democrats in the field -- State Sen. Steve Hobbs, ex-Rep. Laura Ruderman, and entrepreneur Darshan Rauniyar -- were making little headway.

Ruderman was lining up endorsements from district Democrats until the advent of "MamaPAC." A mysterious group called Progress for Washington began to deluge the district with anti-DelBene mailings. It turned out to be financed by Ruderman's mother Margaret Rothschild.

It became difficult for Ruderman to claim no connection with the PAC when Rothschild was featured in her TV spot.

In other U.S. House races, veteran U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott faced an active challenge from a fellow Democrat in the redrawn 7th District. McDermott crushed attorney Andrew Hughes, getting more than 69 percent of the vote to his challenger's 5.8 percent.

State Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, was scoring more than 54 percent of the vote in the 6th District, represented by retiring U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks.

In the new 10th District, however, favored Democrat Denny Heck, an Olympia entrepreneur and longtime state capital insider, had only a little over 41 percent of the vote. He led Republican Dick Muri by 16 points, but still it was a less-than-overwhelming showing in a district designed for Heck and nicknamed "the Denny district."